TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - At least 50 percent of Indonesian villages - with the vast majority located in the eastern part of the Archipelago - have yet to be connected to the electricity grid. "Out of the 82,910 villages in Indonesia, 42,352 villages have yet to receive any electricity power," said the Head of the Brighter Indonesia Program (PIT), Said Didu, in Sentul, West Java on Saturday, May 21, 2016.
Out of the remaining number of villages that have yet to be connected to the power grid, PIT will be prioritising to connect 12.659 villages to the power grid - and the vast majority of these villages are located in Eastern Indonesia, and primarily, in Papua. "We want to make sure that Indonesia's eastern regions could be enjoy electricity, at least to power their lights at home," said Said Didu.
PIT aims to increase the penetration of electricity to all parts of Indonesia. In 2015, the national electrification rate stands at 85 percent - and by 2019, the government plans to increase the electrification rate to 97 percent.
Said said that PIT also aims to utilise local sources of energy to generate electricity - especially renewable energy sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, biomasses, and tidal currents. "By utilising local sources of energy, the power plant and the electricity grid could be decentralised - that way, rural areas do not need to wait for the construction of a transmission channel that connects them to the central power grid," he said.
PIT was initiated at the end of February 2016, and the construction of several small-scale power plants have already begin in rural areas. "We will ensure that the program will keep on running - and we will also continue to improve the management of these program and construction projects," said Said, who said that his officials are also trying to court private investors to participate in the funding of PIT's projects to accelerate the progress of the program.
ANTARA
